A letter, with the photograph of slain al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, with references to alleged human rights violations in the country, including the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq in the name of eating beef, was recovered

A bomb blast from under a car parked near the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court within the Civil Station compound shook the Malappuram Collectorate complex on Tuesday afternoon. However, there were no casualties.

Three cars were damaged in the blast that took place at 12.55 pm, The Hindu has reported.

The police recovered batteries, wires, paper box, pen drive and a printed paper ascribing the blast to the Base Movement, a lesser-known organisation, near the site.

The letter, with the photograph of slain al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, had references to alleged human rights violations in the country, including the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq in the name of eating beef.

In June, a similar blast had rocked the Kollam Collectorate. The Base Movement was suspected to have been behind that blast too.

The blast took place under a Chevrolet Enjoy car hired by District Medical Officer (Homoeo) Reji Kuzhiyellil.

The car was empty when the blast occurred.

A man sitting in a Maruti car a few metres away ran for cover as the blast shook the entire Collectorate compound. “I was thrown out of my chair in my office,” said District Medical Officer V Ummer Farook.

Senior police officers, who examined the blast site, said the explosive was kept in a tiffin box under the diesel tank of the car. Eye witnesses said the car was lifted off the ground in the blast, according to the report in The Hindu.

District police chief Debesh Kumar Behera said the police had primarily concluded that the idea of a pressure cooker bomb might have been employed in the blast, Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi reported.